PMcrunch

I read a pretty comprehensive article on gantthead about leadership, it it raised a lot of issues – directly and indirectly.  The article did not seem to address whether leaders can be made, or are they just born.  The reality, in my opinion, is in between.  I think everyone can become a leader in some way, but people cannot readily be leaders in every situation.  People have natural tendencies and natural characteristics, and they need to play on them.  As such, we can adapt to situations, but there are some situations in which an individual will thrive, while there are others where they will not.  As such, a person may have natural leadership ability in some venues, but absolutely none in others.  For example, a union leader demonstrates leadership ability within the union setting, but may be totally out of place in a corporate setting, where a different type of [tag]leadership[/tag] is needed.
 Another point is that the article seems to focus on ‘ideal’ – or non-ideal, as listed in the article - situations for leaders and their organizations.  However, rarely will most people be in control of so many factors described in the article, nor will their organizations match the ideal portraits described.  These ideas are good, and it will be beneficial for anyone to strive for the good and avoid the bad as much as possible.  But often leaders will be up against resistance - both from people within the organization, and from the organization itself through a sort of “structural” resistance.  They may not feel empowered to be a leader, and may not get the support that they ‘ideally’ should.  Often organizations are at odds with the list from Albano’s article - What is Adaptive Leadership - mentioned on gantthead; they often discourage leadership. 
 

So, the question is, what do leaders do when they are up against the difficult situation?  In my opinion, that is where real leaders are made!  Studying how to handle difficult situations – and putting it into practice – can be a real leadership skill builder.  Also, deciding to be a leader despite a lack of empowerment can also be a great leadership skill builder!  There is a lot out there – including networking, [tag]coaching[/tag], [tag]mentoring[/tag], books, courses – that can help leaders to develop these skills.  A relevant free “Leadership without Authority“online course (which also earns PDUs) is available, along with numerous other courses on the subject area of challenging situations.  See Try for Free! .

If you find yourself saying “Why doesn’t someone do something about that?”, ask yourself if you just might be that someone!
________________
John Reiling, PMP
Project Management Training Online
Lean Six Sigma Training Online